Life Goes On: Changes
by Lissical
Summary: First story in my Life Goes on series. Everything has changed over the summer as the gang heads into junior year of high school. [Troypay] FINAL CHAPTER NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Changes

Author: Lissical

Rating: T … Just to be safe!

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own the characters of HSM.

Summary: It's the beginning of junior year for the gang. Jack Bolton is still not pleased with his son's new interest in music and tension continues to rise between the two. Troy must also deal with Gabriella, who went away for the summer and has come back, completely changed. Eventually Troy/Sharpay

A/N: I really want to write a Troy/Sharpay story, since there aren't many of them out there. This is my first HSM fic, so please go easy!  Also, I love reviews, so please do write a review. I like to know how I'm doing.

Changes

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Troy slowly turned off his alarm. He looked at the time. 6:30 Am. He was dreading having to go back to his routine for school. He moaned and got out of bed to take a shower.

After getting dressed (and changing his outfit a few times), Troy was finally ready for his first day as a junior at East High. He went downstairs where his father and mother were sitting, having breakfast.

"Morning," Troy said, half excited and half asleep.

"It's about time you got up," Jack Bolton said to his son. "I was going to have you take the bus this morning if you didn't get down here." Jack still did not approve of Troy's new hobby of singing and being in school plays.

Troy looked at his father. "Sorry."

Jack simply went back to eating his breakfast.

"So, how is the superstar feeling this morning," Troy's mother asked in an upbeat tone, attempting to alleviate some of the tension between Troy and Jack.

"All right, I guess," Troy said, sitting down.

Jack rose from his seat right as Troy sat down. "Okay well, it's time for school, let's get going."

"But I just sat down!" Troy exclaimed. "I haven't even had breakfast."

"Have a breakfast bar or something. Come on, let's go." Jack walked out of the kitchen.

"Is he ever going to be proud of the fact that I was the lead in the school play AND won the championship game," Troy asked his mother.

She sighed. "I am sure that somewhere deep inside…" She paused. "…Very, very, very deep inside he is." She smiled and kissed her son on the head and went to get him a Nutragrain bar.

"Thanks, Mom," Troy said as he walked over to Jack who was growing more impatient by the second.

"Let's go," Jack said, not making any eye contact with Troy. "We're already late."

"Dad, it's only 7:30. We always get to school at 8:00." Jack gave Troy a look that could burn a hole in Troy's eyes. "Fine, sorry," Troy said, not able to look at his father.

And with that, they left the house, got into the car and drove to school.

8:05am…….

"We're late! I cannot believe you made us late," Jack yelled at his son as he parked the car.

Troy ignored his father and went to open the door when Jack pushed the 'lock' button. "Dad, I have to get to school," Troy said, not looking at his father.

"You make us late again and you're not going to be happy," Jack said in a low, monotone voice that gave Troy the chills. His father had been harder on him ever since the winter musical, but this was definitely the worst.

"Can I go now," Troy said, wanting to get out…and fast. Jack unlocked the car and Troy got out and searched for his friends. He did his best to compose himself so that no one would notice the fear in his eyes.

"Troy!" Chad yelled as he saw his best friend coming toward him. "Junior year, can you believe it? We're almost seniors!"

Troy smiled. At least Chad and the other members of the team accepted his other hobby.

"Hiya, Chad. Have you seen Gabi anywhere?" Troy not only wanted to tell his girlfriend everything that had happened, but he wanted to simply SEE her. She had gone to visit her father in California all summer.

"I think I saw her walk into school about five minutes ago," Jason said, coming up to the two with Kelsi by his side.

"Thanks," Troy said and he began to walk away when—

"Troy!" Kelsi said, stopping him. He turned around. Kelsi looked at him. "Gaby hasn't been acting…like herself this morning. She was acting a little bit like…Sharpay," she said, looking at Troy.

Okay, that's chapter one. I hope you like it! Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here is chapter 2 of Changes. I know I kind of left chapter one without a cliffhanger, but all (or at least most) will be explained in this chapter! Oh, and Gabriella isn't acting_ exactly_ like Sharpay, her attitude has just changed. I added that at the last minute!**

**Again, please write a review—I really appreciate them and it makes me a better writer!**

**Okay, on with the story…**

Troy looked at Kelsi. "Well she _was_ gone for the entire summer…in California nonetheless," Troy said confidently.

"But…" Kelsi started. Troy cut her off.

"Listen, I'm sure that once classes start, she'll be the same Gabriella that she was when I last saw her." Troy smiled and walked inside wanting to find his girlfriend and tell her what was going on at his house and to simply be with her.

* * *

"…I don't think I have ever seen anything like it," Sharpay exclaimed as she examined Gabriella's new jewelry.

"There she is!" Troy walked over to Gabriella, who turned around. Troy's grin fell. Gaby looked…different. Her hair was up in a bun with some of her hair in the front hanging down. She was wearing earrings that went down halfway to her shoulders, and her clothes were…not like what she would wear.

"Hello, Troy," Gaby said as she kissed him on the cheek. "Have a nice summer?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, not sure of what to think of Gaby's 'new look.' "How was yours?"

"Great! I never knew that California could be as much fun as it was." She smirked.

"So, I was wondering if I could talk to you." Troy asked hopefully.

"About what," Gaby said as she pulled out a small round mirror from her purse. Troy just stood there. This was NOT the Gabriella that he knew. She looked from the mirror to Troy. "Well? I thought you had to tell me something," she said growing impatient.

"It-it can wait," Troy said as the warning bell rang.

Gaby shrugged, "Okay." And with that, she walked into Ms. Darbus's classroom and sat down next to Taylor.

* * *

The rest of the day was a typical school day. During lunch, Troy pulled Gaby aside. "Is everything all right," he asked, wanting to know why she had suddenly changed.

"I'm fine, Troy. But I do need to talk to you." Just as she said that, her cell phone rang. "Hello? … Hi Mark! … No, I'm at school right now; well lunch anyway … Uh huh, yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you then!" She hung up the phone and put it back in her bag.

Troy looked dumbfounded. What was going on! "Uh, who was that," he asked.

"He is who I need to talk to you about," she said as she sat down at a table, motioning for Troy to sit down with her. "While I was in California, I sort of…met someone. He was on vacation with his family and lives just outside of Albuquerque." She looked up at Troy who was finding this rather hard to believe. She continued, "Anyway, we got to know each other pretty well and hung out a lot…" She took a deep breath, waiting for Troy to reply.

Troy, still trying to take all of this in, finally looked at her; mainly at her new jewelry and look. "Di-did he buy that for you," he asked, motioning to her earrings and rather expensive looking pin she had on.

"Yeah, he did." She smiled, ignoring the look on Troy's face.

He took a deep breath. "So what you're trying to say is that you want to break up, is that it," he asked, his voice rising.

"I'm sorry, Troy, I didn't mean for it to happen like this…"

He stood up. "Fine. I hope you have a great time with your new 'friend,'" he said, his voice loud enough for his friends to hear.

Gaby stood up as well. "I was hoping that we could still be friends…"

Troy turned to her. "Friends! Gaby, you didn't return any of my phone calls or emails, you didn't write, and when I finally see you, you're…you're completely changed! How can you expect me to be 'friends' with you when you basically cheated on me all summer!" Troy's voice cracked. He had to get out of there. He shook his head and quickly walked out of the cafeteria.

Gaby sighed and sat back down. "Nice going," Kelsi said in a cool voice.

"What are you talking about," Gaby asked, not looking up.

"Never mind," Kelsi said, walking back to the table she was sitting at with Ryan, Sharpay, Taylor and Chad.

* * *

Troy was still in disbelief. He walked to his locker and retrieved his bag, glad that the day was over. He slammed his locker shut, not seeing Sharpay standing right next the locker.

He looked up. "What are you doing here," he asked as he closed his book bag and started down the hallway.

"I-I just wanted to see if you were all right," she asked. Ever since the winter musical, Sharpay and Ryan had become friends with everyone else…for the most part. Sharpay still liked Troy, even though he was with Gabriella, but now it was different. She did feel sorry for what had happened, but also thought of this as an opportunity.

"I'm fine," Troy said, continuing to walk away.

Sharpay sped up to keep up with Troy. She managed to get a hold of his arm. "Hey, if you ever need to talk…you have my number." She gave a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks," he said quietly. "I've got practice, so I'll see you later." He smiled weakly at her as he walked towards the gym.

"You're late," Coach Bolton said as Troy walked into the gym.

* * *

"Sorry, I was…" but he was interrupted.

"No excuses. Now go get in the game," his father said coldly.

Troy did as he was told. Practice did not go well for him. He had Gabriella on his mind and therefore his head wasn't in the game. Every shot he took, he missed. Whenever the ball was passed to him, it bounced before Troy caught it. He knew he was going to get a long talk from his father on the ride home.

"Let's go, Troy," his father said as he waited for his son to finish getting dressed.

* * *

They walked to the car silently. Troy knew that when they got into the car, the 'talk' would begin.

Jack sighed as they climbed into the car. He turned to Troy. "Where were you today? Why were you not 100 focused on your game," he said, his voice rising with every word.

"I had…things on my mind," Troy said, looking at the glove compartment.

"You know, I have tried to put up with you going out with that Montez girl, but this is the last straw. I don't want you to see her again, is that clear," he yelled.

"Don't worry, she broke up with me," Troy said, still looking at the glove compartment.

Jack seemed to have a satisfied grin on his face. "Good. Now you can stay away from singing and…"

"Who said I was going to stop singing…or trying out for plays," Troy said, lifting his head so that his eyes met his father's. "Just because I broke up with Gabriella doesn't mean I don't want to stop acting!" Troy was now yelling.

"Don't you raise your voice at me, young man! I will _not_ put up with that."

"You can't stop me from trying out, dad," Troy said, his voice still loud.

And with that, Jack slapped his son across the face. "I told you not to raise your voice at me." Jack started the car and drove home, not saying another word to his son.

When they arrived home, Troy ran upstairs to his room and sat down on his bed. He put his hand on his face where his father had slapped him. He had never raised a hand to him before. What was happening to him? First Gabriella broke up with him, now his father was madder than ever. Could anything else possibly go wrong?

"What is this," Jack exclaimed, causing Troy to jump nearly a mile in the air.

"What's what," he asked.

"This!" Jack waved a piece of paper in front of Troy's face. "You want to quit the team!"

"I was considering it," Troy said quietly, knowing he had jinxed himself.

* * *

**Okay, well that is chapter 2! I hope you liked it. What do you think will happen next? Will Troy really quit the team? And will Sharpay 'come to the rescue?' Please review! I love reading your comments.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm baaaack! Sorry for the delay; work has been very hectic! Plus, I never have much time to update. So expect most of my updating to be done on the weekends, since that is when I have the most time.**

**Also, I'd like to thank EVERYONE who has reviewed this story so far. You don't know how much it means to me! I truly appreciate all of your reviews and please, keep them coming: )**

**And now, on with chapter 3 of Changes.**

* * *

The next day didn't go very well for Troy … again. He made sure to leave the house before his father, trying to avoid any contact with him whatsoever. He already knew that he was ready to chew him out for wanting to quit the team. Troy ate breakfast in record time, picked up his bag, put on his coat, and left the house.

As he walked to school, he thought about the day before and about Gabriella and how she had suddenly changed. Without warning, she had basically cheated and dumped Troy all in one minute. Her mind seemed to always be with 'him.' Troy still didn't know his name, and frankly didn't want to know. He tried his best to get Gabriella and the last conversation he had with her out of his head as he neared the school.

"What is going on with you!" Chad asked as Troy walked up to him, Jason, Zeke, and a few other members of the team.

"What are you talking about," Troy said, knowing full well what he was talking about. He continued to walk towards the school.

"You want to quit the team!" Zeke exclaimed. "Why on earth would you want to do that? I mean, I know you like to sing and stuff now, but that didn't stop you after callbacks."

Troy turned to face his fellow teammates and friends. "Listen, I really don't want to talk about it now." And with that, he walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Chad—who had many questions to ask his best friend.

As he walked into Ms. Darbus's room, Troy couldn't help but to look at Gabriella. She was so beautiful when she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, leaving a lock of it hanging in front. He wanted so badly to walk up to her and demand that the two of them belonged together, but yesterday's conversation started to creep back into his mind and he dodged the thought and sat down.

"Troy?" A familiar voice said, standing over him.

He looked up. "Gaby?" He couldn't help but to smile. Maybe she was here to tell him that she changed her mind about what's-his-name and wanted to iron things out with Troy.

She smiled. "I was just wondering…"

"Yeah," he said, his smile becoming apparent.

"Do you have yesterday's History assignment," she said coolly, in a way that Sharpay would normally talk.

The smile quickly faded from his face. Not only was he surprised that she was asking HIM for the assignment, but that she was asking for the assignment at all! Gaby was the one who people had always gone to so they could get the assignments. "Why," he asked. "I thought you wrote everything down in that class."

"Yeah well, I got caught up in…something." She twirled the hair that was dangling in her face. She was wearing the fancy earrings again, along with a rather expensive looking locket around her neck. "Anyway, do you have the assignment? If I don't do the homework for that class, I am so going to regret it."

He rolled his eyes and was about to give it to her when… "As a matter of fact I do, but you're the brainy one here. Why would _you_ be asking _me _for that? I mean, you just broke up with me," he said, standing up.

Before she could reply, the bell rang. Gaby gave Troy a 'look' and sat down in her seat.

Troy sighed and felt like he was an inch tall. He knew he had done the right thing, but he felt like a jerk at the same time.

None of this went unnoticed by Sharpay, who was sitting next to Troy.

* * *

At lunch, Troy decided to sit by himself. He had been avoiding Chad and the other members of the team all morning and was avoiding Gabriella for obvious reasons. He didn't' want to sit with Ryan, Kelsi or anyone else either. He just wanted to be alone and he was until—

"Is this seat taken," Sharpay asked in a strangely nice manner.

"Uh…no," Troy said, too shocked to say that he wanted to be alone.

"Great." Sharpay smiled and sat down next to Troy who was apparently very obvious that he was shocked because before he could say anything else, Sharpay started out with, "I heard what happened this morning in homeroom." She paused. "And I'm…sorry that Gabriella did that to you. She really changed over the summer. Even _I_ can't get her to come back down to earth, if you know what I mean," she said as she took a bite of her salad.

Troy, who was still in shock that Sharpay was being so nice, finally managed to scramble a few words together. "Thanks," he said quietly, moving the food on his plate around with a fork. Gabriella was only half of the problem Troy was having, and Sharpay seemed to sense that something else was up.

"So other than Gabriella, why are you so quiet?" She actually sounded sincere.

Could he tell her? Would Troy be able to trust Sharpay Evans, Ice Queen of the 11th grade with what had happened the day before? "Um…well…"

"What's wrong, Troy," she asked, putting her hand on his, a very concerned look on her face.

"It's…nothing," he said, not sure he could really trust Sharpay. This could simply all be an act for all he knew. That's what he thought until…

"Troy. We've known each other since Kindergarten. I know, I've been the diva and you've been the 'hoops dude,' but one thing that you don't know is that…I like you…a lot." She waited for him to close his mouth from the shock of what he just heard.

"You…I….you what?"

"I like you," she said, a small smile forming on her face.

"Then why did you try to sabotage me at the callbacks?"

"Troy, do you know nothing? Are you really that dense?" She chuckled, as did he.

"Right," he said. "You like me?"

"Only since 5th grade, when I found out that cooties were fake and that you were the only guy other than Ryan who understands me, the only person who actually gets through to me."

It was then that he knew he could trust her. He remembered her telling him about a girl who was up for the lead in the 5th grade play and how Sharpay was really worried that she may actually not get the lead that year. Troy had told her to relax, that maybe the school just wanted to see if there was someone who could top Sharpay. Of course, she ended up with the lead, but Troy had at least gotten through to her and helped her to relax.

He cleared his throat, coming back to the present. "My dad…he still doesn't approve of me singing and was pretty angry about it…has been for the whole summer." He stopped, looking up at Sharpay who was still paying close attention. "Anyway, after practice yesterday, I had had it with him and decided that if he was going to treat me like that, that I just didn't want to be on the team anymore…so last night, he found this letter that I had been meaning to give to him at the right time and…well, he got pretty mad and hit me pretty hard," he said, putting his hand on his face where his father had hit him.

"Troy, I'm so sorry," Sharpay said.

"Yeah, me too." He looked down at his food and back up at Sharpay. "Thanks. For listening to all this, I mean.

"Anytime." She gave his hand a squeeze and smiled at him.

As she walked into the cafeteria with her lunch, she nearly dropped her tray. Troy? And…Sharpay! Gabriella began walking towards the two.

* * *

**Well, that's chapter 3! I hope you liked it. I decided to add some background about Troy and Sharpay. : ) And I decided to leave a cliffhanger. :evil laugh: Please read and review!**

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	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back again! Sorry I took so long. I had to think of something good to write. I hope you like it!**

**-Lisa**

**Changes Ch. 4**

* * *

If looks could kill, everyone in the cafeteria would be dead by now after seeing Gabriella's face as she walked towards Sharpay and Troy. Sure, she had basically broken it off with him, but how could he find someone else so quickly? And why did it have to be Sharpay? "What are you doing," Gabriella asked as she walked up to the two.

Troy looked up, a little surprised to see Gabriella there. "Uh…eating lunch," he said matter-of-factly. He was not ready to start an actual conversation with Gaby. Not after what she had done to him that morning. "Is there something you wanted?"

Sharpay looked up at Gaby as well. "Was there something else you wanted," she asked in an icy tone with a matching glare to boot.

Gaby glared at Sharpay. "No, I guess not," Gaby said, feeling defeated. It wasn't until she heard Troy say…

"Then could you like…leave us alone? I'm trying to talk to Sharpay here." It was now Troy's turn to glare at Gaby.

She just stood there in shock for a moment. Not able to say anything, Gaby just walked away, taking her cell phone out as she did. She dialed the number of her new boyfriend.

Troy just looked at his plate, not knowing what to say or do.

"Hey, are you all right," Sharpay asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Yeah. I just didn't think it would be that hard to talk to her…or should I say, I didn't think she was that cold." He sighed.

Sharpay put her hand on his shoulder. After another brief pause she asked, "So you're really going to quit the basketball team?"

He looked up at her. "I don't know. I mean, one of the main reasons I was going to was because I was sick of my Dad constantly riding me about how I need to get my head in the game and only on the game."

"Troy, I know that he wasn't exactly thrilled about you starring in, or being for that matter, in the school musical, but if you think about it, he was probably just trying to do what he thought was best." She looked at him, her hand still on his shoulder.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're actually defending him!"

"I didn't say that. I just said that I can see where he was coming from." When Troy looked as if he was about to get up and walk away, Sharpay continued. "When Ryan and I were in Kindergarten and landed the leads in the play, our Mom saw 'potential' in the two of us. So, ever since then she has put a lot of pressure on us to do whatever we have to do to get the lead; to beat everyone else." She looked down. "No matter whom we hurt."

Troy looked at her. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? Sharpay's mother was the cause of all this? "You're joking, right," he asked, giving a little chuckle. When he saw Sharpay's serious face, he stopped chuckling. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "It's okay. I didn't expect you to believe me right off the bat. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is, give it another chance; not just basketball, but your Dad as well."

"What did you and Ryan do about your Mom? I mean, did you ever talk to her about the pressure?"

"She uh…she left before we got the chance. She met this guy while she was working on a show in San Francisco. We were about 11." She looked back down at her food.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it. So anyway, promise me you'll give your Dad another chance? Please?"

He sighed, "I guess I could try…"

"Great!" She gave him a 'thank you' hug. "That was for … uh … promising me you'll talk to your Dad…"

"Mm-hmm, right." Troy smiled and returned the hug when the bell rang.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then," Sharpay said as she got up.

"Yeah, see ya' later." Troy couldn't help but to smile. It was the first time he smiled that day.

* * *

Troy took a deep breath before walking out into the gym. When he did, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Chad was giving him a look that seemed to say 'this must be his farewell to the troops.' Even Jack was surprised to see him.

"Troy," was all he could come up with.

"Hi, Dad," he said quietly. "I uh, changed my mind about quitting the team. But I do need to talk to you after practice."

"So do I," he said, his voice sounded 'nicer' than it did the last time they spoke.

Troy walked out to greet his teammates. "Dude! You're not quitting," Chad said, a huge smile on his face.

"Nope, you're stuck with me."

"What changed your mind," Jason asked.

Troy paused before answering. "Someone who I didn't expect, let's put it like that."

"Okay…" Chad looked confused, but that look was replaced by happiness to see his best friend back.

* * *

"So, you did well at practice today," Jack told his son as they walked out to the car.

"Um, thanks." Troy took a deep breath. "Dad, I know how much you hate me being in a musical, but I really like it. In fact, I think that singing is what has kept me playing as well as I have," he said in one breath.

"Wow, did you stay up all night to get that out," Jack asked with a smirk.

"All afternoon."

"Ah, that would explain the fast-talking…literally." Jack sighed, "I'm sorry too, especially for last night. I've never raised a hand at you, and I wasn't proud of what I did." He looked at the steering wheel and then back at Troy. "Anyway, I can see that you still seem to love basketball as much as you did before you discovered acting, so as long as you can keep up, I suppose it's okay to do both…"

Troy was shocked. Was this his father talking? "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Wow, thanks." Troy smiled and for the first time since callbacks, he actually felt comfortable with his father.

"Wanna go home now," Jack asked as he started the car and began to drive.

"Yes." Troy smiled, knowing what he was going to do when he got home.

* * *

"Hello," She answered on the fifth ring.

"Hey Sharpay," Troy said. "Did I catch you at a bad time? You kind of sound out of breath."

"No, I was just exercising. So, how'd it go with your Dad?" She sat down on her bed.

"Pretty well, actually. He wanted to talk to me about the whole thing anyway."

"Good, I'm glad that you worked everything out." She paused. "Listen, I got a phone call from Gaby this evening."

"Really? What did she say?"

"Well, she kept on bragging about this new guy of hers…Mark, I think. Anyway, she wouldn't shut up. Everything that came out of her mouth was about HIM. Ugh, I just wanted to scream at her."

Troy laughed.

"And what is so funny? You're not the one who had to endure this conversation."

"It's just…well you and Gabriella have traded places. She's being all mean and you're really…"

"Yes," she said, anxiously, with a somewhat icy tone.

"…Very nice," he said, chuckling nervously.

She smiled, "I was hoping you'd say something like that."

"Yeah well if I don't do this homework now, it's not going to get done, so I have to go…see you tomorrow?" Even though he knew he would, he was actually looking forward to it.

"Yep, I'll see you tomorrow. Night." She hung up and smiled.

* * *

The next couple of weeks had gone by smoothly. Troy was playing basketball again and he and Sharpay had started to date. Then the day for the fall play auditions came. Troy was planning on trying out and had heard that Gabriella wasn't going to because she was so busy with Mark.

"Troy, over here!" Sharpay called from the front row of the theatre. He smiled and walked over to Sharpay and Ryan. The three of them were planning on trying out for the three lead roles. He walked over to them, but before he could say anything, Sharpay looked up. "Uh oh."

"What?" Troy looked to where she was looking. There, at the entrance to the theatre, was Gabriella with some guy. This person had to be the infamous Mark who Gabriella never stopped talking about…

* * *

**Well, that's chapter 4! I hope you all enjoyed it. Please R&R: )**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, me again! Sorry I took so long in getting this chapter out. I have had a terrible case of writer's block. Ugh. **

**Anyway, I think I'm over it and thus have chapter 5! Please read and review. : )**

* * *

Troy looked up to where Ryan was looking and saw a boy who had to be Mark with Gabriella. The two started down the aisle and Gabriella immediately saw Troy and smiled. She quickened her pace, Mark following suit.

"Hello, Troy," she said as she reached the three.

He nodded, "Hi." He then looked over to Mark and back to Gabriella, hoping she wouldn't introduce him to Troy…too late.

"Oh, how rude of me! Troy, Sharpay, Ryan, this is Mark. He lives just outside of Albuquerque."

"Then what's he doing here," Sharpay asked for Troy who couldn't seem to think of anything to say.

Gaby shot Sharpay a 'how dare you say that' look. "If you _must_ know, he's here to support me while I audition."

Troy was speechless. So Gaby decided to audition after all? Why did she bring _him_ along with her? He decided that she did it to make Troy jealous. Still, Troy decided to make the best of it. "Hi, I'm Troy," he said, extending his hand to Mark.

Mark took Troy's hand and shook it. "Oh, the basketball guy," he said. Troy gave Mark an odd look. "Gabs has told me all about you." He smiled slyly.

"Yeah, I'm the basketball guy…also the former boyfriend of 'Gabs' here," Troy said, no longer able to suppress his anger towards Gaby. He shot her a glare.

"Um, right," Gaby said, obviously uncomfortable with what had just been said. She looked over at Ryan and Sharpay who were just watching this whole thing play itself out.

"Sharpay, Ryan, and Troy," Ms. Darbus called, finally getting to their names. Troy had never liked hearing that voice as much as he did now. Anything to relieve the tension in the room.

The three of them made their way to the stage and sang the song that they had prepared. When they were finished, Ms. Darbus actually had a smile…or what looked like a smile on her face as they walked back to where their things were.

Troy looked at Gaby, who was busy fiddling with something on Mark's shirt and being all 'flirty.' Troy looked over at Sharpay and Ryan and mimed a gagging expression, causing Ryan to laugh out loud and Gaby to lose focus on Mark's shirt. She gave Troy a dirty look and right when she was going to say something to him, she heard Ms. Darbus call her name. She gave Mark a quick kiss on the cheek and brushed coolly past Troy and made her way to the stage.

"Isn't she amazing," Mark said, not able to take his eyes off of Gaby.

"Yeah, she's just great," Troy said in a monotone. He began to leave, but turned and took Sharpay's hand and gestured for Ryan to come with them.

Gaby had just finished her song and saw Troy walk out holding Sharpay's hand. She left the stage and before Mark could compliment her on how well she sang, she took his hand and flew out of the auditorium.

"Ugh, I thought I was going to be sick when I saw those two," Troy said as the trio walked through the halls and made their way outside.

"You thought you'd be sick," Ryan asked, shaking his head, "I almost had to run out of there and go to the bathroom before I showed you all what I ate for lunch!"

"Ewww," Troy and Sharpay said together. "Ryan don't be so gross," Sharpay scolded.

"What? It's true," he said, hoping the humor would relax Troy, who was obviously tense.

Troy just laughed. "You crack me up, you know that," he said to Ryan with a smile. He wasn't about to let Gaby mess up what he had just started with Sharpay, so he decided to ignore everything she was doing to what seemed like make Troy extremely jealous of her.

Sharpay smiled and squeezed Troy's hand as they walked over to Troy's car.

"Okay, can you tell us where we're going in such a hurry," Mark said, nearly breathless from running from the auditorium to the parking lot.

"No reason," Gaby said as she watched Troy help Sharpay into the car. Then she saw it. She had to blink a couple of times to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Troy had just…kissed Sharpay.

"Thanks," Sharpay said as Troy was helping her get into the car.

"No problem. This door always sticks for some reason…I sometimes just wish my Dad allowed me to get a new car instead of a used one," he said with a chuckle.

Sharpay just rolled her eyes. "You are so weird. Just be glad that you _have _a car," she said, giving Ryan a glare.

"What? How was I supposed to know that the parking break always has to be on when you park the car?"

"Ryan, it was a stick shift, you…you…" She couldn't think of a word to describe him.

Troy just laughed. "Okay, break it up kids," he said as his and Sharpay's eyes met. Ryan took this as the perfect moment to get into the car and shut the door. Troy smiled at Sharpay.

"What are you smiling at," she asked, looking at him.

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, he slowly moved towards her and gave her a small kiss on the lips. Surprisingly, Sharpay didn't move away. Instead, she kissed him back, deepening the kiss.

Troy smiled as they parted. "That's what I was smiling at," he said softly.

* * *

The next few days went rather quickly. Ms. Darbus had been taking her time in preparing the callback list. When she put it up, Troy and Sharpay were the first two to look at it. "We…we did it," Sharpay exclaimed as she looked at the names on the list. Sharpay and Troy were being called back for the roles of the two main characters and Ryan was on the list for one of the other strong characters.

Troy scanned the list, looking to see if Gabriella had made the callback.

"She's right there," Sharpay said, almost reading his mind. She pointed to Gabriella's name; it was for a supporting role. Troy couldn't help but to smile…just a little.

He looked over at her, "We should celebrate," he said.

"And practice."

"And celebrate."

"Hmm, what is that expression that you guys use on the basketball team all the time…oh! GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" She nearly yelled, with a smile.

"Right, I forgot how much you like to practice," he said, smiling back. "Well, maybe we can on Friday…before we go to dinner and see a movie," he said hopeful.

Sharpay was shocked. Troy Bolton had just asked her out. "Uh…yeah, sure. I'd like that." She smiled and kissed Troy on the cheek. "Well, I have to get to class."

"Yeah, me too." He smiled as she walked away. He had finally done what he never thought he'd be able to do with Sharpay: get part of her mind off of the musical. Well, that and ask her out on a date.

Gabriella, who was on her way over to the callback list, had heard all of this. Now he was asking her out! Wait, why was she feeling like this? She had Mark now. She shrugged off any possible jealousy she might have had and looked at the list. Her jaw dropped when she saw it.

"What's the matter, scared that my sister and Troy are probably going to get the leads," Ryan asked from behind her.

"Oh shut up," she said smugly. "I don't care about Troy or who he's dating!"

"That's not what I was talking about," Sharpay said, smiling to herself. Gabriella was finally getting what she deserved for breaking Troy's heart.

"Don't you have a class to go to," Gaby said, looking at Sharpay.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at Gaby. "Who are you, my Mother," she asked with an attitude.

"He doesn't really like you, you know," Gaby said. "He's just on the rebound. You'll be history before the week is out."

"Uh huh, yeah you just keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, I've got a class to go to… 'Mom.'" Sharpay smirked and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Gabriella.

* * *

**Okay, not one of my best chapters, but I like it. I hope you do too! Please make sure to review: )**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I decided to give you all one more chapter before I leave tomorrow morning. It's really short, mainly because I don't have time to write anything long right now and I'm kind of running out of ideas…I might end the story soon, unless anyone has an idea or two to help me along. If you do, please PM me: )**

**So enough babbling from me; on to chapter 6!**

* * *

_**Friday Night…**_

Sharpay couldn't help but to feel excited for tonight. She and Troy were FINALLY going to go on a date! She went to her closet and picked out an outfit that she knew Troy would like. It was tight, but not too tight; showy (is that a word?), but not too showy. She put her hair in a ponytail that went off to the side and off her shoulder. She put some makeup on and walked into Ryan's room. "Well," she asked.

He looked up from what he was doing. "Wow," he said, smiling. "You look great. But what is that thing on your cheek?" He made sure to suppress his smile.

"WHAT! No way, I just cleaned my face like, 100 times!" She ran off to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Ryan made sure she was gone to let out a chuckle. He always managed to get her on that joke.

"Ryan Matthew Evans!" Sharpay stomped into his room and picked up a paperback book and hit him over the head with it. "You doofus!"

"Ouch! I was just having some fun," he said, smiling innocently.

Sharpay rolled her eyes and stomped right back out of his room. Ryan laughed again and looked out his window and saw a car pull up. "Shar, I think Troy's here," he said as he went downstairs to open the door for Troy. "What's up, man," Ryan asked as Troy made his way from the car to the front door.

"Well, I have a date with your sister tonight. That's pretty much all."

"Shar, Troy's here," Ryan called again.

"Ryan, if you think I'm falling for that again, you are completely and totally—" She was cut off by the sight of Troy.

"Completely and totally what," Ryan asked.

"Shut up." She smiled at Troy. "Hi."

"Hi there. You look great," he said smiling at her.

"So do you." Troy was wearing a blue shirt and sport coat and black pants (A/N: think the night he and Gabriella met at the ski lodge).

"So…are you ready?"

"Yep. We're going to dinner, if I'm not mistaken." He was hoping that she wasn't going to say that they were going to go practice for their callback.

Sharpay thought about this for a moment. Did she want to practice first, or just blow off practicing tonight and have fun? "Dinner," she said after about five minutes of thinking.

Troy, who had spaced out by now, was quickly jolted back into reality. "Great!"

"Well, you two have fun, and remember to be home at a reasonable hour, young lady," Ryan said, mimicking their father. This earned him another hit on the head, this time with Sharpay's purse. "Ouch, I was joking, jeez!"

Just then, their REAL father showed up at the front door. "Have fun, sweetheart." He looked over at Troy. "Make sure to have her home by 10:00."

"Daddy! It's Friday, not Sunday!" Sharpay whined.

"Fine," Mr. Evans said, "10:15."

"DADDY!"

"I'm kidding, honey. Midnight at the latest." He smiled and kissed Sharpay on the head. Ever since his wife had left him, Neil (A/N: that's the name I'm giving to Mr. Evans) had become very protective of his children. He didn't want Sharpay to end up like his ex-wife.

"Thanks, Daddy," she said as she gave him a hug.

Troy and Sharpay headed out to Troy's car. He attempted to open the passenger door, which seemed to be stuck. "Um…"

"Here let me try," Sharpay said, handing her purse over to Troy."

"If I can't do it, I'm pretty sure you're n—" He was stopped by Sharpay, who had opened the door with ease. "Wait a minute, how did you…"

"Come on, we're going to be late," she said as she got into the car. Troy closed the door and walked over to the other side of the car and got in.

"I still want to know how you did that," he said as he started the car and backed out of the driveway.

"Let's just say hormones," she said, stifling a laugh.

Troy looked at her like she was crazy. "Okay…"

* * *

"No way," Sharpay said as she took a bite of her salad. "No way did you say that!"

"I did," Troy said, taking a sip of his water. "He was annoying me and so I decided to say that."

Sharpay laughed. She couldn't seem to stop smiling when she was with Troy. But her smile quickly diminished when she looked at the door of the restaurant.

"What's wrong," Troy asked as he looked where Sharpay was looking. "Man, does she follow us everywhere," he asked himself when he saw Gabriella with Mark.

Sharpay shrugged. She was still having a hard time with what Gabriella had told her about troy being on the rebound. She kept telling herself that it wasn't true.

"Troy! Sharpay!" Gaby said as she and Mark passed their table. "What a coincidence."

"Right," Troy said sarcastically. He barely made eye contact with her. "Now if you don't mind, I'm on a date here," he said, motioning to Sharpay, who gave Gaby one of her famous icy smiles.

Gaby looked at the two and just nodded. "Come on, Gabs, let's go to our table," Mark said.

"Yeah." Gaby pushed her hair back and took Mark's hand and they walked to their table.

"Talk about desperate," Troy said as he watched Gaby and Mark.

Sharpay didn't say anything. She was positive that Troy wanted to be back with Gaby.

"Shar? Are you all right," he asked when she didn't respond.

She took a deep breath. It was now or never. She had to know. "Troy…are you really over Gabriella, or just…on the rebound," she asked, her voice getting quieter.

Troy looked at Sharpay and took her hand. "What makes you think that," he asked, lifting her face with his other hand.

"Well, the other day when I was looking at the callback sheet, Gabriella came up to me and said that you didn't really like me; that you're just on the rebound and that…" She was shushed by Troy, who started to talk.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, taking his hand off of hers. "Sharpay, I am way over Gabriella. Sure, I was hurt when Gaby told me that she met someone else over the summer, but she has made it quite clear that she doesn't want to get back together and I just had to get over it, and I am. I really am." He took her hand again. "Please, you've got to believe me," he said, looking her right in the eye.

Sharpay let out a sigh and nodded. "I do now," she said smiling. And with that, they finished dinner and went back out to the car.

* * *

"I had a great time," Sharpay said as Troy helped her out of the car.

"So did I…Sharpay, you do believe me…about me being over Gabriella?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I do. Thanks, Troy," she said with a smile.

"I'm glad," he said as they reached her front step. He leaned in and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. Sharpay responded and put her arms around Troy, deepening the kiss.

When they parted, they just looked into each other's eyes and knew that they were going to be with each other for a long time.

**THE END**

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**Okay, so I lied; I decided to end the story here because I have an idea for a sequel! Should I write it, or just leave the story as it is? Please read and review! Just so you know, if I do decide to go on with a sequel, it won't be until after I come back from Las Vegas.**


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